Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Feb 21, 20213 minHorses That BiteA horse spends 17 to 18 hours per day eating. Can you imagine how strong their jaws are? Plus, they have nice big teeth at the front of...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Jan 3, 20213 minDealing with the JigJog HorseSome horses seem unable to walk calmly along and are constantly doing a jigjog. It is not a walk or a trot, but a bouncy jogging that is...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Nov 14, 20203 minWhat Does Connection Look Like?The following is a question I was asked that really got me thinking. “I am wondering if I truly understand the term ‘connection’ with my...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Sep 26, 20203 minShut-Down HorsesRecently I went to view a horse as a potential purchase for a client. The current owner ran the horse around a round yard for a few...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Apr 15, 20203 minChatting With HorsesRecently I found myself saying to a student, ‘it’s a conversation, not a command’. This one phrase is probably the most important thing I...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Mar 15, 20203 minWhat is Training?Training is the action of teaching a person or animal a particular skill or type of behaviour, according to Google. The main word in this...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Jan 19, 20203 minGrooming HorsesGrooming is the first thing you do with your horse after catching them. The quality of grooming time can set the tone for all that’s to...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Jan 19, 20203 minHeads Up! And How to Avoid This One thing many people have difficulty with is horses sticking their heads up when under saddle. This is undesirable for a number of...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Oct 5, 20193 minThe Head DropAsking a horse to drop their head with a soft and immediate response is one of the best things you will ever train into your horse. When...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Sep 20, 20193 minTraining the Rider to Train the HorseIn the horse world, there are two main types of people, horse riders and horse trainers. While trainers are an excellent option for...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Sep 20, 20193 minFrom Domination to ListeningRecently a student pointed out that my work is defined by how I listen to horses. The traditional way of interacting with horses is to...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Jan 31, 20193 minPositive ReinforcementMany people use positive reinforcement with horses, instead of or as well as other forms of training (negative reinforcement,...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Jan 17, 20193 minThe Art of LungingWhen a young horse misbehaves, the lead mare may send them out of the herd, running them in circles until they give signals saying they...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Dec 1, 20183 minConsiderate HorsemanshipFor quite a while I have been trying to work out exactly what it is that I do with horses. I have called it Natural Horsemanship, and in...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.May 1, 20183 minMAKE IT EASYHere’s a good question to ask. When I am with my horse am I making it easy for my horse to succeed or difficult? Sometimes I see people...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Feb 28, 20183 minDesensitisationSo what is desensitisation? Well the opposite of sensitisation! And that’s the tricky bit, you must be very clear of what you’re doing as...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Jan 1, 20183 minIT'S ALL ABOUT THE REWARDWhenever your horse does something that you've asked for it's imperative that you give a reward. This reward lets the horse know that...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Dec 1, 20173 minTHE CONVERSATIONWhen I meet a new horse we often go through what I call ‘the conversation’. This is where we check each other out and decide how we’re...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Oct 31, 20173 minTHE PASSENGER GAMEThis is a great game to play with any horse that has a rusty ‘go button’. It develops forwardness in the horse, gets snappy responses to...
Suzy Maloney B.Eq.Sc.Oct 1, 20173 minTRAINING/DETRAININGTRAINING/DETRAINING Everything we do with our horses is training them or de-training them. We call it training when the horse ends up...